Never Die – Book Review
Never Die is a fast-paced thrill ride that fans of Wuxia and revenge quests will love! You may have heard of Rob J. Hayes, a former SPFBO winner for his grimdark pirate novel Where Loyalties Lie, but as his catalog continues to grow, we can see that he has the chops to create riveting stories in whatever genre catches his eye.
Perhaps the deftest trick Hayes manages is to set a unique tone right out of the gates. The opening sequence depicts the main character’s heroic last stand, but the tale doesn’t flash back from there…she dies. And a creepy little boy named Ein brings her back. The rest of the novel follows an unlikely band of risen heroes on their quest across the country to slay the emperor. It’s a straight forward revenge tale, peppered with just enough twists to keep things interesting.
Hayes’ writing sets a tone that matches the cinematic feel of the novel. He does an excellent job of describing complicated action sequences in a way that makes them easy to picture. Each fight has an element that makes it unique enough to keep it distinct from the others, although I would quibble that there really are a lot of fights, and that towards the end I wanted a little more focus on narrative than action. Never-the-less, I never became frustrated enough to consider putting it down. It was un-put-downable. I finished this book in just a few days. At 270ish pages, it is just the right length to tear through and come out the other side bloodthirsty for more.
Fantasy lovers will enjoy Hayes’ use of martial arts techniques. Each notable fighter has a unique talent or technique that they have developed. In western fantasy, abilities like this would be ascribed to magic, whether teleportation, impenetrable skin, or whatever the case may be, Hayes adapts the magic to an eastern setting by ascribing each to martial arts training. This is probably obvious, but it is very well done, and it really helps set the mood. I’ve heard that mood described as a mash-up between virtually any two cool martial arts/action movies(Kill Bill/Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in my opinion).
The world in which Never Die is set has a distinctly Asian flavor, with fantastical elements reminiscent of Japanese kami and oni, Bushido culture, and some Chinese unification themes. The spirit world plays an important and intriguing role in the story, giving it the x-factor it needed to transcend a pure hack-and-slash tale into something more. The characters aren’t all particularly nuanced, but they are unique, and intriguing, and they serve the story exactly as they should.
All of this conspires to make Never Die a fun read. Really fun. Its not necessarily deep or emotional, but I don’t think it’s supposed to be. It’s supposed to make you smile, and pump your fist, and turn pages. I dare you to put it down.
